At the multi-national air exercise known as INIOCHOS-23, which the Hellenic Air Force will host, participants from the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be present. From the 24th of April until the 4th of May, 2023, the training will be conducted at the Andravida Air Base in Greece. The Indian Air Force will send two Su-30 MKIs and four C-17s to participate in the exercise.
The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen international collaboration, synergy, and interoperability among the air forces that are participating. The training will be conducted in a scenario that is representative of actual warfare and will involve a variety of air and surface forces. In addition to that, it will make it possible for the participating contingents to communicate in a professional setting and get valuable insight into each other’s most effective procedures.
Other participants include France with its Rafale jets, the United States of America with its F-16 jets and MQ-9 drones, Jordan with its F-16 jets, Spain with its EF-18 aircraft, Italy with its Tornado aircraft, Cyprus with its AW139 helicopter, Saudi Arabia with its F-15 jets, Slovenia with its PC-9 aircraft, Austria with its Intelligence personnel and Canada with its Air Traffic Controllers.
Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Montenegro, Bahrain, Slovakia, and Tunisia have declared their intention to dispatch delegations.
The Israeli Air Force will not be participating in this year’s drills. The absence of the Israelis after several years is attributed to their participation in the largest air exercise in the United States, ” Red Flag,” and the fact that Tel Aviv avoids moving many fighters out of the country.
The realistic exercises will be conducted in a large area with various geomorphological features, and the drill is one of the most competitive in Europe and the Mediterranean.
The exercise maintains and expands its interdisciplinarity and acquires a greater “Greek-centric” flavour, as this year, the host will have the option of extensive participation from the 12 state-of-the-art French Rafale fighters it will have until April, as well as the recently upgraded F – 16s in configuration Viper, as 6 “vipers” have already been delivered to the 343 Squadron “Asteri.”
The network-centric nature of the exercise will likely be emphasised, and the Greek Operational Synthetic Training Squadron will play an active role. Complex air missions covering the entire spectrum of air operations (Offensive and Defensive, Assistance to Land and Naval Forces, Air Defence Suppression/Destroy Missions, Reconnaissance, Time-Sensitive Targets and Dynamic Targeting Operations, Protection of High-Altitude Targets) will be conducted in “HINOCHOS 23,” including Valour and Search and Rescue in a Combat Environment.
